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Has using a rangefinder improved your scores?

SuperStroke
I don't think the improvement in my game correlates to picking up a range finder.

My best part of my game is my putting (not lately) when that is on I can score no matter how I get to the green.

However, if your iron/wedge/tee distances are dialed in and you know them it makes playing to a number a heck of a lot easier which should improve scores
 
It takes the guessing out of choosing a club for me, no disputing the distance. I like to know to the exact yardage from the pin, then I judge my carry distance based on my divot on the green and how deep or short it is from being pin high. I've narrowed my iron and wedge full shots down between 2 to 3 yards each. You then adjust for lie and wind, and that's pretty much it.

Hard to say exactly how much the rangefinder alone has improved my game since my handicap has decreased drastically in the past month due to a major swing and club change... I'd say there's at least 4 or 5 times during a round that the rangefinder sets me straight. I always estimate a number in my head, and play out what would have happened without it. Ex- yesterday on a par 3 I figured we'd be 140 yards away with the pin tucked in the back. Pulled out the rangefinder to see that it was only 128 yards, wasn't paying attention to the fact that we were hitting from the front of the tee box. Saved me from going over the pin and having to try and flop a shot close enough to get up and down. Could have saved at least 2 strokes on that hole. It's obviously circumstantial, but this rangefinder definitely doesn't add any strokes to my game.

I highly recommend it for any golfer at any level.
 
Simple answer is yes. I am using it more now to measure distances to layups and to give myself specific distances in to the greens. Also using it to measure to the center of greens recently vs the pins and my GIR has gone up dramatically.


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Absolutely. Course in our area tend to have little if any marking on the heads. Even the ones that do, it is front middle and back. When I was using mine, I used to us it along with my GPS to get an exact idea of how much room I have to land the ball and let it get to the pin. That combo made a huge difference in my game.

Now that my stuff was stolen this week, it will be interesting to play without them...
 
It's a hard proposition to prove. If you play a course a lot you have a good feel for club/distances so it is hard to see. . If you play an unfamiliar course, you don't know how you would have scored without it. IMO, it definitely helps when playing a new/unfamiliar course and helps when out of position on courses played a lot.
 
O'Carroll said:
It's not something I really pay attention to; however, I shot my low league 9 hole score for the year on Tuesday night and left the rangefinder in the bag. Instead I used my GPS watch and played to the middle distance when the flag was on the front; and the back distance when the pin was middle or back.
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I have never really cared for range finders as my swing even as a 6hc was not consistent enough to really care exactly how far a target was...but I have followed what O'Carroll recommended using a GPS device with great results. Gps will also give you distance to trouble and from other fairways etc...so they can help select clubs for sure. And one more point is if you are honest and record all your swings it can eventually tell you about what your average distance is per club...close enough to follow O'Carroll's advice...just my 2 cents.
 
The rangefinder helped my game, but not as big of a jump as I had thought it would.

Playing more made the biggest impact on lower scores.
Rangefinder a slight improvement to scoring (but more an improvement on GiR's than anything).
Alcohol has the effect of instantly throwing my game for a loop.
 
Use a Garmin watch. It's VERY HARD to golf without it on the rare occasion I forget it at home. It's gold knowing the yardage to the green with just the turn of the wrist. You never have to doubt which club to grab. Trust the yardage and the club and just swing. I'm totally lost without the watch.
 
It hasn't made a huge difference, but I'm sure it has saved me a few stokes due to posted yardages being off. It's also a great tool to figure out your real distance gaps with clubs.
 
I can't say that a range finder has made me play better, but it has improved my confidence when standing over an approach. I know the yardage so I swing more confidently. Just removes one more unknown.
 
When your confident of your yardage, that's one less variable to worry about.
 
I would say it's definitely helped knowing exact yardages. The guessing game doesn't exist anymore, and hitting a good shot with the wrong club has been less frequent, lowering my scores.
 
Short answer...no. But I still love it.
 
I have had a rangefinder for about 10 years now and thought it was great when I got it. I used it to shoot distances on the course and the driving range. Also helpful for figuring out club distances. What I discovered was that when I primarily began using it on the tee for par 3s only and became too lazy to pull it out other times. Most of the courses I play are marked well enough to get middle and then select clubs based on green size. What I really needed was something when I got inside the cart sign and needed to hit partial wedges. I found that a GPS like the neo ghost has been fabulous for that. Did the rangefinder save me strokes.....No. Has the Neo Ghost....I would say yes since I am getting better at distance control on those crucial partial wedges.
 
Mine has helped with definite yardages.

When we go up to a par 3 that says 210 yards and it really is 185, we know.

I use mine at the range too.

Also, on the course I can tell if a tree, bunker, pile of rocks, or some other object is reachable when trying to lay-up.

It also tells the truth when someone says " Wow, I just hit a 350 yard drive". You can go to their ball, and shoot from it to the tee box. Then, just walk away. When they ask how far it was, tell them "238 yards". :)

It is a good tool for me. I still make bad shots, and stupid mistakes. But, now I have the right club in my hand for that distance.

Jack
 
cnosil said:
I have had a rangefinder for about 10 years now and thought it was great when I got it. I used it to shoot distances on the course and the driving range. Also helpful for figuring out club distances. What I discovered was that when I primarily began using it on the tee for par 3s only and became too lazy to pull it out other times. Most of the courses I play are marked well enough to get middle and then select clubs based on green size. What I really needed was something when I got inside the cart sign and needed to hit partial wedges. I found that a GPS like the neo ghost has been fabulous for that. Did the rangefinder save me strokes.....No. Has the Neo Ghost....I would say yes since I am getting better at distance control on those crucial partial wedges.
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I feel the same way about my Bushnell neo xs watch. Much easier than a rangefinder for me. However, on a few occasions I have found the watch to be off after clearing a green by 20 yards and know I wouldnt have had this problem with a rangefinder.
 
Definitely! My shots into greens have always been good but prone to being long and short. Nowadays my proximity to the hole is far more consistent which leads to more makeable birdie putts.
 
Prime example of saving strokes. Played a course for the first time as a 2some and we were on a par 4 with an extreme dog leg right. The shot was semi blind as the tee box was about 50 feet lower than the fairway. I aimed my range finder at the far tree and telephone poles and realized it was only 220 yards out. We each layer up with 5i and then had a long iron into the green.

It was difficult to judge the distance with your eye from the tee box so it definitely saved both of us....
 
It depends. How much I use mine usually varies, if my swing is on or I'm playing a completely new track I'll use it a lot. Honestly though, at the courses around here I use my GPS watch more than anything, and my laser maybe 4 times a round, focusing on F/M/B and how much total green I have to work with has helped my scores a lot.
 
I stubbornly paced off distances from sprinkler heads for a long time before buying a GPS. Then eventually I purchased a laser rangefinder. The rangefinder is far and away the best option for me. Sprinkler head distances can be wrong and my GPS was charted incorrectly from a couple of locations on my course. Also there is always a level of uncertainty on the exact location of the pin even if flags are color coded for front, middle and back. The rangefinder eliminates all possible errors and uncertainties by always giving the exact yardage.

Another huge benefit is always knowing exactly how far you are hitting each club. As I repair my ball mark, I can easily calculate how far my shot flew and the total distance of carry plus roll. Knowing exactly how far the ball is traveling in different conditions is extremely important. A rangefinder makes it possible to chose the right club when you are at one of those "in-between" distances, because you know the exact yardage. You'll never be in a situation where you select a shorter club when you have also underestimated the distance.

It will never be possible to figure out exactly how many shots are saved by using a rangefinder, but I honestly believe it can be anywhere from zero to two or more shots per round. If you under club just one time in 36 holes due to an inaccurate yardage and bury the ball under the lip of a trap... or land it just short so it rolls back into a hazard... you have saved a couple of shots. If you get a precise distance and hit it stiff, you can make a birdie you wouldn't have made otherwise.
 
Rangefinder definitely helped my scoring, particularly when inside 150m and making better club selection. Only time I don't really use it is when running one up to the green instead of wedge.
 
If I could put a ball within a metere I would be on tour LOL, I use a GPS watch if I can get within 5 meters of the middle of the green I'm happy LOL, usually if the flag is at the front of the green I go for middle of the green distance if the flag is in the middle of the green I go for the back of the green distance. My length disperation miss will always be short and never long so that works for me.
 
To be honest I actually use a watch and laser. Laser if within the 150 and watch for most other shots if I just dont have line of sight or am interested in how far from tee to green etc based on the tee box for the day. Probably overkill but I like my stats.
 
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